if Jesus comes back in our time, He'll lay down the law.

The thinking on this topic is by necessity limited. Not enough people really think about why Jesus had to die, and why he has to return. Even fewer people think about what it means for Jesus to return. They are oblivious of the teaching of the bible about what form the 'return' of a key providential figure takes. Too many interpret the symbolic scriptures in a literal way, even though Jesus himself continually taught through symbology, metaphor and analogy (parables).

But, let's put those questions aside.

The kingship of God is fundamentally different to the kingship we have observed in this fallen world. We have never had the actual model of a Godly kingship. All honorable kings/queens of the past have to some degree been a symbol of true kingship, but none are the true model.

God is our creator, ruler and sovereign. However, despite 'laying down the law', he never interferes with our free will. What does this mean? It means, the future "Kingdom of Heaven" is NOT a theocracy. Theocracy is a form of religious dictatorship. It has nothing to do with God's principles, because God is the creator of freedom of belief, free will and self-governance.

So, if God's kingdom is not a theocracy, what will it be. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth will be a Constitutional Monarchy, although different from the constitutional monarchies that have existed heretofore, because no kings/queens hithertofore have been true kings or queens.

Scripture tells us that God created through the Word, and that Christ is the Word become flesh.

The notion of constitutional government is a direct reflection of this principle. A nation's Constitution is the "Word" by which the nation is created and established. The Constitution defines how the governance is to be structured and executed.

The constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven will establish Christ and Christ's lineage as the kingship, but the role of the Kingship will not be to dictate government. That's because God has created all men and women to be SELF-GOVERNING. Thus, even in God's kingdom, the people will govern themselves using a representative system, similar to the US and other 'democracies' founded on the principles of Christian civilization.

However, the Heavenly Constitution will also enshrine core fundamental principles of God's Kingdom. It will place the highest priority on the protection of the natural family, by preventing government from enacting laws that contradict the natural family.

People will still be free to make their life choices; no one will be forced to choose this or that lifestyle, but government will be prevented from attacking and undermining the natural family, which is a structure and institution created by God, not by man.

As with the US constitution, the Heavenly Constitution will be focused on limiting government and defining what government cannot do. It will not be a constitution that tells people WHAT to do. God's commandments exist. Christ will surely 'lay down the law', but Christ does NOT rule through force, and governments and kingships of the past have. Rather, with the law of heavenly firmly established, natural judgment will fall on those who flaunt that law or live in contradiction to that law.

In our fallen history, the standard of Good has always been relative, because Good and Evil have been battling over who wins the heart of man. Evil undermines, seduces, manipulates our hearts to corrupt them, but Good (God) appeals to our true nature, inspires and motivates us via our conscience to live in accordance with his Purpose and commandments.

Once the Heavenly Kingdom is established on Earth, that realm of relativity, where evil can hide and avoid judgment, will disappear. Because everything will be open and transparent, it will be patently OBVIOUS when things are NOT transparent. Accordingly, evil will have no place to hide and avoid being judged.

Christ will not need to be a dictator. He simply needs to uphold the truth and the standard of God's commandments and God's purpose. People will still choose how and what they do. However, in a world where evil motives and actions are immediately exposed and identified, and which incur immediate natural judgment*, who would want to be sinful, or commit crimes against their fellow man or woman?

This is my conception and understanding of some aspects of the coming Kingdom, based on scripture, human history and natural law. The fact that evil is being exposed, and that so many things that have been hidden are now coming into the daylight, confirms to me that this is where we are: we are in the process of transitioning out of the fallen, corrupted world of relative good and relative evil into the world of absolute goodness where Christ's kingship is not only spiritual, but also established in the material world.

The key point to understand, however, in my view, is that Christ's kingship is NOT a dictatorship. It is a kingship that preserves God's principles and the relationship between God and his children, codified in the form of a Constitution that upholds the core human rights God has granted to his children, including the principles of self-governance, freedom of belief and free will.

What else is true self-governance than being truly responsible for what you say and do?

In the Heavenly Kingdom, government will NEVER be allowed to usurp the rightful place of the people of God to govern themselves, under Christ's love and guidance. The Heavenly Constitution will thus define and limit what the Heavenly Government can do, albeit to a more perfect level than what the current US constitution currently does.